Edwin Jackson settled down after a wild start to throw the fourth no-hitter of the season of the pitcher, leading the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 1-0 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday night.
Jackson walked eight, all but one in the first three innings, and threw a season-high 149 pitches in the second no-hitter in Diamondbacks’ history. This is the third time the Rays have been no-hit since last July, including Dallas Braden’s perfect game at Oakland on May 9.
Colorado’s Ubaldo Jimenez no-hit Atlanta on April 17 and Philadelphia’s Roy Halladay tossed a perfect game at Florida on May 29.
Jason Bartlett grounded to shortstop for the final out and Jackson’s teammates mobbed him on the field.
Jackson walked the bases loaded in the third but was bailed out by a stellar play by third baseman Mark Reynolds, who spun around to throw out Ben Zobrist at home plate.
Reynolds made another big play on a sharp line drive by Bartlett in the seventh. In the eighth, Miguel Montero threw out pinch-runner Carl Crawford trying to steal second after Carlos Pena reached on an error.
Jackson was so wild and the pitch count unusually high that the Diamondbacks had relievers warming up from the sixth inning on.
Jackson pitched for the Rays from 2006-08.
“It just so happened it was against a team that I played for,” Jackson said.